Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Depression

Iron deficiency is known to affect mood and can exacerbate depression, but it can only be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. While iron deficiency is easy to fix with iron supplements, people who have not been diagnosed with iron deficiency should not supplement iron.

Deficiency of vitamin B12 can create disturbances in mood that respond to B12 supplementation. Significant vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with a doubled risk of severe depression, according to a study of physically disabled older women. Depression caused by vitamin B12 deficiency can occur even if there is no B12 deficiency-related anemia.

Mood has been reported to sometimes improve with high amounts of vitamin B12 (given by injection), even in the absence of a B12 deficiency. Supplying the body with high amounts of vitamin B12 can only be done by injection. However, in the case of overcoming a diagnosed B12 deficiency, one can follow an initial injection with oral maintenance supplementation (1 mg per day), even when the cause of the deficiency is a malabsorption problem such as pernicious anemia.

A deficiency of the B vitamin folic acid can also disturb mood. A large percentage of depressed people have low folic acid levels. Folic acid supplements appear to improve the effects of lithium in treating manic-depressives. Depressed alcoholics report feeling better with large amounts of a modified form of folic acid. Anyone suffering from chronic depression should be evaluated for possible folic acid deficiency by a doctor. Those with abnormally low levels of folic acid are sometimes given short-term, high amounts of folic acid (10 mg per day)...